CAPTAIN:
I have the honor to report the operations of the Fifty-sixth
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers since the morning of the
14th instant:
The regiment left
camp on the left bank of the Monocacy Creek, near the
National road, on the morning of the 14th instant, at 6 a.m.
Present for duty: One field officer, I captain, 6
lieutenants, 239 enlisted men. The regiment passed over the
National road toward the South Mountain At Middletown our
regiment, in common with the brigade under command of General
Doubleday, verged to the right, marching in a northwesterly
direction for about 2 miles, when we formed in line of battle
and marched up the mountain. At the crest of it we found
General Hatch's brigade warmly engaged with the enemy.
General Hatch's troops forming the extreme right of our line,
we formed in rear of them, and as soon as we had relieved
them we opened fire on the enemy, posted some 40 yards in
front of us, in a corn-field. It was now quite dark, and the
position of the enemy could be ascertained only from the
flashes of his fire. Our men fired continually for about one
hour and a half, when our ammunition gave out. We were at
this moment relieved by the arrival of General Ricketts'
division, and, by order of General Doubleday, we retired 10
paces to the rear, where the men slept on their arms, the
enemy having retired shortly after the arrival of General
Ricketts' troops. The conduct of the officers and men was all
that could have been asked of them. There is every reason to
believe that the fire of our regiment was very destructive to
the enemy. This was made manifest by the number of dead that
lay in the morning in front of the position that our regiment
had occupied. The following is a list of casualties occurred
during the action: Killed, 1; wounded, 11; missing, 3 (all
enlisted men). I am under obligations to Lieutenant Healy, my
acting adjutant, for valuable assistance rendered by him
during the action. At 2 o'clock this morning, by direction of
General Doubleday, I assumed, as senior officer, the command
of the brigade, Captain Williams, of Company D, succeeding to
the command of the regiment.